» ABOUT THE BEARS: UNC is coming off a pair of tough nonconference losses to Colorado State University (66-58) and the University of Colorado (93-68).

UNC played some of its best basketball in the first half of both of those losses, but failed to say consistent at both ends of the floor in both games.

The Bears are led in scoring by guards Tevin Svihovec and Cameron Michael, both with 11.9 scoring averages. Dominique Lee, a 6-foot-7, 230-pound center, averages 8.4 points per game and can float out to the wing as a power forward. Jordan Wilson, a 5-foo-7 sophomore, has a quick first step and averages 7.5 points per game and 2.4 assists per game.

» ABOUT THE MAVERICKS: UNO, a former colleague of UNC’s in the North Central Conference, is led by the duo of CJ Carter (16.09 points per game) and Devin Patterson (13.7 points per game, 4.9 assists per game). Jake White pulls down 11 rebounds per game while Mike Rostampour averages 7.6 rebounds per game.

The Mavericks are coming off a 79-72 loss to the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and have lost three of their last five.

Women’s hoops

» WHO: University of Northern Colorado at South Florida

» WHAT: NCAA Division I nonconference women’s basketball

» WHEN: 5 this afternoon

» WHERE: The Sun Dome, Tampa Bay, Fla.

» RECORDS: UNC is 6-3. South Florida is 7-3

» ABOUT THE BEARS: UNC is coming off a 65-61 loss to Utah State.

The Bears are 2-0 when coming off a loss.

Senior center Stephanie Lee has been on fire, averaging 28 points per game in the last two games and needs just one point to reach 1,000 in her career.

The Bears’ defense is ranked No. 11 in the nation, limiting opponents to just 51.8 points per game.

Senior Lindsay Mallon is averaging 3.8 assists per game while senior guard D’Shara Strange is ranked 29th in the nation, averaging 3.1 steals per game.

This is the second in a three-game road trip for the Bears, their longest road trip of the season.

» ABOUT THE BULLS: The Bulls are ranked No. 36 in RPI with all three of their losses coming to teams with a top 50 RPI ranking.

The duo of Alisia Jenkins and Courtney Williams have combined for seven double-doubles this season.

B.J. Hill and Kamie Ethridge are finding out that basketball is a lot like golf.

No, leave the 3-iron in the bag. A 68-degree loft wedge isn't going to help either.

The common denominator is consistency.

Just about the time one deficiency is solved, another appears.

Translated — killing it from 3-point range on Sunday doesn't mean a thing by Tuesday.

Pressure defense that leaves opponents' head spinning on Thursday can be inept by Saturday.

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You learned to read a green and you get the yips.

Solve a slice and a hook shot appears.

On the range, you're under-par. From tee-to-green, you're playing out of three different fairways.

As Hill and Ethridge's teams head into the final two weeks of what most coaches refer to as the preseason, the inconsistencies need to do an about-face.

Hill's UNC men's team can ill afford second halves like the ones the Bears turned in against Colorado State University and the University of Colorado.

It doesn't make any difference if the lack of production comes from the starters, the bench or even coaching decisions.

The experimenting is just about over. The successful remedies are due.

Hill will need to decide if he's going to abandon a true big-man presence and rely on Cody McDavis and Dominique Lee to sacrifice their better built-for-power-forward bodies by banging the boards, and hope for a band of hustlers and battlers like Jordan Wilson, Tevin Svihovec, Dwight Smith, Corey Spence, Cameron Michael and Tim Huskisson will scoop up what's left.

Michael, known for his long-range shooting, has only displayed it once — in Saturday's first half against the Buffs.

Obviously, Hill can go about eight deep, which should be enough to keep the Bears in the hunt.

That is, if they can maintain consistency from the first half to the second half.

This isn't a team that battled very well from behind, evidenced by losing their swagger when facing deficits against CSU and CU.

In fact, CSU coach Larry Eustachy said that if his squad hadn't been able to chop into the Bears' first-half dominance, he didn't like the Rams' chances in the second half.

CU coach Tad Boyle entertained the same scenario on Saturday afternoon in Boulder.

The Rams and Buffs answered the way Hill hopes his squad will do at 7 tonight at Nebraska-Omaha and again next week at home against Jacksonville State and UC Davis.

Ethridge's concern differs from Hill's.

She would prefer her squad start the game with a scowl on its face and finish the same way.

Sure, consistency is still key, but in all honesty, when narrowed down, it has to come from seniors D'Shara Strange and Stephanie Lee.

Strange, who possesses more talent than some team's entire lineup, has to find some consistency in her offense. In other words, find her jump shot that carried the Bears for three seasons and has infrequently appeared in nonconference games this season.

In so many words, Ethridge has suggested that the best way for Strange to be more consistent on offense is to keep herself in the lineup. In other words, play smarter defense and avoid foul trouble.

Then there's Lee, the gangly center whose touch is as soft as Charmin.

Ethridge has warned that when the Bears begin Big Sky Conference play at 2 p.m. New Year's Day against Montana at Bank of Colorado Arena, the soft hook shots won't come as easy.

Her suggestion has been for Lee to take a step back, square up and take the same soft shot, only as an 8-foot jumper.

Lee responded favorably in the Bears' victory over Grand Canyon University, but forever a perfectionist, Ethridge wants more of that in-the-paint versatility.

A little more willing to go down the bench than Hill, Ethridge expects more consistency from the guard trio of Lindsay Mallon, Savannah Scott and Kyleigh Hiser, but has mentioned their defensive skills as a plus.

Through the Bears' first nine games, the entire roster has received a good share of playing time, but expect that to thin out for some and increase for others — the ones who exhibit consistency, starting at 5 tonight at South Florida.

Sound easy? It's not.

Just about the time Michael finds his range and McDavis fights his way into double digits on the boards, Svihovec could slip into a shooting slump.

Once Strange starts killing it from 15 to 20 feet, Lee establishes herself as a true inside-out threat and Mallon matches her fierce defense with assists, another deficiency will somehow pop up.

» ABOUT THE BEARS: UNC is coming off a pair of tough nonconference losses to Colorado State University (66-58) and the University of Colorado (93-68).

UNC played some of its best basketball in the first half of both of those losses, but failed to say consistent at both ends of the floor in both games.

The Bears are led in scoring by guards Tevin Svihovec and Cameron Michael, both with 11.9 scoring averages. Dominique Lee, a 6-foot-7, 230-pound center, averages 8.4 points per game and can float out to the wing as a power forward. Jordan Wilson, a 5-foo-7 sophomore, has a quick first step and averages 7.5 points per game and 2.4 assists per game.

» ABOUT THE MAVERICKS: UNO, a former colleague of UNC’s in the North Central Conference, is led by the duo of CJ Carter (16.09 points per game) and Devin Patterson (13.7 points per game, 4.9 assists per game). Jake White pulls down 11 rebounds per game while Mike Rostampour averages 7.6 rebounds per game.

The Mavericks are coming off a 79-72 loss to the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and have lost three of their last five.

Women’s hoops

» WHO: University of Northern Colorado at South Florida

» WHAT: NCAA Division I nonconference women’s basketball

» WHEN: 5 this afternoon

» WHERE: The Sun Dome, Tampa Bay, Fla.

» RECORDS: UNC is 6-3. South Florida is 7-3

» ABOUT THE BEARS: UNC is coming off a 65-61 loss to Utah State.

The Bears are 2-0 when coming off a loss.

Senior center Stephanie Lee has been on fire, averaging 28 points per game in the last two games and needs just one point to reach 1,000 in her career.

The Bears’ defense is ranked No. 11 in the nation, limiting opponents to just 51.8 points per game.

Senior Lindsay Mallon is averaging 3.8 assists per game while senior guard D’Shara Strange is ranked 29th in the nation, averaging 3.1 steals per game.

This is the second in a three-game road trip for the Bears, their longest road trip of the season.

» ABOUT THE BULLS: The Bulls are ranked No. 36 in RPI with all three of their losses coming to teams with a top 50 RPI ranking.

The duo of Alisia Jenkins and Courtney Williams have combined for seven double-doubles this season.